Graphical user interface for finding and depicting individuals

ABSTRACT

A method, apparatus and computer program for presenting locations of individuals in an interface are described. A location and an orientation of a portable device with respect to an environment are monitored. A set of locations of one or more individuals of interest with respect to a region of interest in the environment is determined. An orienting background and a set of representations against the orienting background are presented in an interface on the display. Each representation is of a respective individual of interest in the region of interest. The interface presented according to the location and orientation of the display. The orienting background contains a positional cue of a landmark of the environment which the portable device is oriented toward. A representation of a respective individual of interest is displayed only if the portable device is oriented toward the respective individual of interest.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This disclosure relates generally graphical user interfaces. Moreparticularly, it relates to a graphical user interface for finding anddepicting individuals.

Computer users are increasingly interconnected by the Internet andsocial networking applications with other users that share theirinterests and attributes. Portable devices are useful for allowing usersto remain in contact with other users outside their home or workenvironments. While travelling, some users would like to know whenfamily, friends, co-workers or other people, e.g., people in one oftheir social networks, are near their current location.

Some applications or “apps” have been developed to fulfill this need.Typically, software applications display digital maps that are residenton smartphone and tablets computers, for example. In addition todisplaying the map data, the user's current position and the individualsof interest are displayed. To date, however, the interfaces haveportrayed the user and the individuals of interest as “dots on a map”.Unfortunately, this is a non-intuitive way to locate other users,particularly if the user is unfamiliar with the area in which the useris travelling.

Further improvements in graphical interfaces are needed.

BRIEF SUMMARY

According to this disclosure, a method, apparatus and computer programfor presenting locations of individuals in an interface are described. Alocation and an orientation of a portable device with respect to anenvironment are monitored. A set of locations of one or more individualsof interest with respect to a region of interest in the environment isdetermined. An orienting background and a set of representations againstthe orienting background are presented in an interface on the display.Each representation is of a respective individual of interest in theregion of interest. The interface presented according to the locationand orientation of the display. The orienting background contains apositional cue of a landmark of the environment which the portabledevice is oriented toward. A representation of a respective individualof interest is displayed only if the portable device is oriented towardthe respective individual of interest.

The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent features of thedisclosed subject matter. These features should be construed to bemerely illustrative. Many other beneficial results can be attained byapplying the disclosed subject matter in a different manner or bymodifying the invention as will be described.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a more complete understanding of the present invention and theadvantages thereof, reference is now made to the following descriptionstaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary interface for an embodiment of the presentinvention in which a single individual of interest is shown against anorienting background;

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary interface for an embodiment of the presentinvention in which two individuals of interest are shown against anorienting background;

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary interface for an embodiment of the presentinvention in which an individual of interest is shown as a portabledevice is raised;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary interface for an embodiment of the presentinvention in which individuals of interest are shown in a crowd;

FIG. 5 illustrates pinch gestures being performed in an interfacedesigned according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a diagram of several “cones of interest” and a region ofinterest defined in the interface by a user according to embodiments ofthe invention;

FIG. 7 shows an interface according to an embodiment of the invention inwhich a user movement state is depicted;

FIG. 8 shows an interface according to an embodiment of the invention inwhich guide arrows are shown;

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of the inventionfor operating the interface;

FIG. 10 illustrates an architectural diagram of components for locatinga portable device according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 11 depicts an exemplary block diagram of a distributed dataprocessing environment in which exemplary aspects of the illustrativeembodiments may be implemented; and

FIG. 12 is an exemplary block diagram of a data processing system inwhich exemplary aspects of the illustrative embodiments may beimplemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT

At a high level, the invention is a method, system and computer productfor providing a graphical user interface comprising for displayinginformation about the location of one or more individuals. Embodimentsof the invention include methods for monitoring the location andorientation of the display and the location and facing direction of theuser with respect to the display and the environment. The direction thatthe user is currently facing when using the device determines what anappropriate display of the one or more individuals should be in theinterface. For example, if the user is facing the display and theindividuals are located in a “cone of interest” located in front of theuser, the graphical user interface displays the individuals in anidentifiable manner, e.g., as pictures, in a background representing theenvironment in the cone of interest. That is, rather than displaying thelocations of the individuals as mere points on a map, the interfacepresents a more intuitive interface that allows the user to locate andorient toward the individuals and the world, and then based on thelocation and orientation information, if desired, meet the individualsof interest.

The inventive interface is superior to a “dots on a map” interface wherethe dots represent the user and the people being sought. Maps are notintuitive. In some environments such as a crowded beach or park, at anoutdoor rock concert, in a crowded mall, maps are useless. Further,prior art maps are generally two-dimensional; in embodiments of thisinvention, the interface allows the user to locate and identify peoplein the third dimension, e.g., for example, on a floor of a nearbybuilding.

Embodiments of the invention display a graphical user interfacerepresenting the location of one or more individuals of interest on thebackground of an orienting background. By monitoring the location andorientation of the display and the location of the individuals ofinterest with respect to the device, the interface determines what anappropriate display of the one or more individuals should be. Forexample, if the user is facing the display and the individuals arelocated in a “cone of interest” or “region of interest” located in frontof the user, the graphical user interface displays the individuals in anidentifiable manner, e.g., as pictures, in a background depicting theenvironment in the cone of sight. That is, rather than displaying thelocations of the individuals as mere points on a map, the interfacepresents a more intuitive interface that allows the user to locate andorient toward the individuals and the world, and then based on thelocation and orientation information, if desired, meet the desiredindividual. As described below, the “cone of interest” is configurableby the user in an intuitive manner.

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary interface for an embodiment of the presentinvention in which a single individual of interest is shown against anorienting background. The user holds a portable device 31, e.g., atablet, in front of the user. In the interface an orientating background32 is shown. Over the background, in preferred embodiments, at least onemember of a group of individuals of interest is depicted as arecognizable representation 33. The individual is shown in the interfaceas a picture 33 since the individual is in the cone of interest in thedirection that the user and portable device are facing. Embodiments ofthe invention are displayed by any of a tablet computer, a smartphone,augmented reality glasses, smart watch or other portable device.

The orienting background 32 is illustrated in different manners inrespective embodiments of the invention. In embodiments of theinvention, the background 32 is orientation-sensitive, having cues inthe background to orient the user to the environment by displaying abackground representative of the environment with positional cues. Thatis, the background in the interface helps the user orient to theenvironment in which the user is presently located. The positional cuesin alternative embodiments include one or more of a camera view of theenvironment, a stylized version of the environment and/or landmarks in ahorizontal view. In alternative embodiments of the invention, the userinterface is “immersive”, e.g., using virtual reality, and therefore theorienting background is also virtual reality. The orienting backgroundin some embodiments of the invention is user selectable, e.g., the usercan select between a camera view and a representational view. Arepresentation view is one in which the landmarks are represented asdrawings or caricatures. Temporary landmarks (such as the moon) may alsobe included in the background to provide orientation cues for the user.In yet other embodiments, the orientation-sensitive landscape backgroundis embedded with labelled information about the landmarks. By placingpictures or other representations of the individuals, e.g.,representation 33, in a “see through”, orienting display, the positionalcues orient the user, enabling the user to locate the individuals ofinterest.

The individual of interest is depicted as a representation 33.Embodiments of the invention use one or more filters for selecting theindividuals of interest that the user is interested in seeing on theinterface. That is, the user can select one or more individuals, membersof a social network, members of a cohort such as employees of a company,family members, friends, only people currently looking for the user, andother user configurable groups of individuals. In embodiments of theinvention, only the individuals who pass through the selected personfilter are depicted in the interface. In addition to the person filterfor the set of individuals of interest, a geographic filter is used inembodiments of the invention, either in conjunction with the personfilter defining a set of individuals or by itself. By manipulating a“region of interest,” the user may, for example, filter out individualsbeyond a threshold distance. The filter may also be a time filter, e.g.,for a given person or group of people that the user is looking forduring a particular window of time. That is, the filter can be timeconfigurable as well. The interface displays the individuals of interestas if the user is facing the individuals nearby, when the device isoriented toward the individuals, although the user is actually far indistance from the individuals of interest.

The representation 33 of a respective individual of interest can be aphotograph of the individual. Alternatively, the representation 33 canbe a caricature, a cartoon or an icon that the user has selected torepresent the particular user. Further, the presence of one or more ofthe individuals of interest may be annotated with labelled informationin preferred embodiments of the invention, either in a default or pop-updisplay format. Yet further, a respective individual of interest can berepresented by a selected representation of a set of representationsbased on the distance or activity of the individual. For example, amoving individual can be represented by the icon selected for theindividual plus an icon representing the mode of movement, e.g.,walking, car, airplane. Distance can be represented by the selected iconand a distance numeral in the corner of the icon, or by a smaller orlarger version of the selected icon at given distances.

FIG. 2 shows an exemplary interface for an embodiment of the presentinvention in which two individuals of interest are shown against anorienting background 32. In this drawing as compared to FIG. 1, a secondrepresentation 34 of a second individual of interest is shown in theinterface in addition to the first representation 33 of the firstindividual. The appearance of the second representation 34 can be due toseveral factors as will be discussed below. First, the second individualmay have moved into the “zone of interest”, i.e. the geographic filter,defined by the user. Second, the user may have adjusted the zone ofinterest to be slightly larger, e.g., either subtending a larger arc ina “cone of interest” or extending to a greater distance from the user,like zooming out in a telephoto lens. Third, the user may have changedthe definition of the set of individuals of interest, e.g., the personfilter, to include more individuals, in this case, the secondindividual. Fourth, the second individual may have changed their privacysettings, allowing the interface to portray their representation 34.

In operation, the user can pan the portable device looking for theindividuals of interest. As the user pans, the orienting backgroundchanges to reflect the environment which the user now faces like acamera in real-time. Individuals of interest appear and disappear overthe background 32 as the user faces the general direction of respectiveindividuals of interest. For example, Mike (the user) is looking forJames (his friend) using an implementation of the invention on hissmartphone. As Mike turns and points his phone in a particulardirection, i.e. the direction in which James is located, a picture ofJames appears in the interface, almost as if Mike is looking directly atJames. When Mike turns further, the image of James disappears since hissmartphone is no longer oriented in the direction of James.Alternatively, if Mike holds the smartphone still and James is walking,James will eventually disappear from the interface.

Embodiments of the invention operate intuitively in a three-dimensionalenvironment. The interface of the present invention is adaptable to“3-D” environments, e.g., buildings, or space stations, which are not aswell represented by map point interfaces. FIG. 3 depicts an exemplaryinterface for an embodiment of the present invention in which anindividual of interest is shown when a portable device is raised fromthe horizon by the user. In this example, the user knows that hisbusiness contact is located in a nearby specific building, but not theoffice or floor. The user points his device at the building and once thedevice is pointing up, e.g., to the correct floor, the representation 33of the individual of interest is shown in the interface. The orientingbackground 32A in the interface depicts the building and nearbybuildings. Also shown is annotation 35 which contains information aboutthe individual of interest, e.g., name and location and the location ofthe individual shown as a dashed circle. The interface can use inputfrom an accelerometer or gyroscope to get an angle of inclination, whichis used to determine when the device is pointed to the floor theindividual of interest is on. In reality, the field of view encompassesseveral floors as indicated by the orientation background 32A. Therequired amount of vertical movement of the device to invoke thevertical information is exaggerated in some embodiments of the inventionto help the user control when the mode is invoked. For example, theinterface may require more angle on the phone than actually needed,particularly at a large distance, to invoke the three dimensional aspectof the interface.

The name, location and other information in the annotation 35 can comefrom a plurality of sources. Some information can be held at the userdevice, for example, the name of the individual of interest can be inputas part of the user configuration of the interface. Some information maybe from the device of the target individual of interest, e.g., hiscurrent location, or a targeted message to the user. Some informationmight be from a third party. For example, if both the user and theindividual of interest were employed by the same organization and theorganization tracked the employees, e.g., using badges and indoorbeaconing, the location information may be from the corporate intranet.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary interface for an embodiment of the presentinvention in which individuals of interest are shown in a crowd.Embodiments of the invention present the individuals of interest inintuitive ways when the individuals are in crowds, e.g., at events inbuildings, parks, malls, beaches and so forth. As shown in FIG. 4, thedisplay depicts the interface when a user is hunting for a set ofindividuals of interest in a crowd. In this embodiment, a user scans acrowd using the interface on a portable device to help identify andlocate friends/family/colleagues, located somewhere in the crowd. Images33 and 34 of individuals of interest are displayed over the orientingbackground 32B of the crowd. The background in this case is a feed ofthe camera on the smartphone. Thus, the interface is useful to find whenfriends, family or people within the user's social network are within ornear a current location. For example, a user can find a friend bypointing the screen at a landing airplane or arriving bus. The interfaceis useful even if the user does not know that the individuals ofinterest were coming to or near the user's current location. Embodimentsof the invention can be used to locate individuals who are unknown tothe user, e.g., a “blind date” or a new business contact, in a crowdedenvironment like a concert or restaurant. A privacy option such asopting-in for a limited period of time can be placed in effect, so asnot to reduce privacy.

In embodiments of the invention, the user may request to be shown adirection in which a density of people where the user knows is high,e.g., a higher density relative to other directions, or higher than athreshold. This could be useful in a crowded environment to “show mewhere my friends are.”

FIG. 5 illustrates pinch gestures being performed in an interfacedesigned according to an embodiment of the invention. In the top window,the user performs a “pinch in” gesture over the background 32. Unlike aconventional user interface in which a pinch in gesture is used toresize the image, in embodiments of the invention, the pinch in gestureis used to decrease the size of the cone of interest. In embodiments ofthe invention, the display of the orienting background 32 itself isunchanged. As shown in FIG. 5, the pinch in gesture is horizontal,narrowing the arc of the cone of interest and only a singlerepresentation 33 of an individual of interest is shown over thebackground 32.

In other embodiments of the invention, a pinch in gesture focuses thecone of interest, on a selected individual of interest, thereby movingthe apex of the cone of interest away from the user and changing theorienting display 32 to focus on landmarks closer to the selectedindividual.

A vertical pinch in gesture can be used to decrease the maximum distance(e.g., the range) of the cone of interest.

In the bottom window, a “pinch out” gesture is performed. In preferredembodiments of the invention, a pinch out gesture performed on thebackground 32 increases the size of the cone of interest. Here, thepinch out gesture is horizontal, increasing the arc of the cone ofinterest. Note because the size of the cone of interest is increased, asecond representation 34 is shown in the interface, corresponding toanother individual of interest who was located in the increased area.Though the pinch out gesture was performed on the background, the imageof the background is left unchanged. A vertical pinch out gesture can beused to increase the maximum distance (e.g., the range) of the cone ofinterest. In other embodiments of the invention, the pinch out gesturecan be used to adjust the apex of the cone of interest closer to theuser, e.g., back to the location of the user device.

In yet other embodiments of the invention, the pinch in gesture andpinch out gesture are used to control the size and apex of the cone ofinterest in a single gesture.

In embodiments of the invention, an interface window detailing thenumber of degrees in the arc or the maximum distance (e.g., range) ofthe current cone of interest is shown so that the user can adjust thecone of interest with successive pinch in and pinch out gestures. Inembodiments of the invention, the horizontal and the vertical componentsof the pinch gesture are used to change the arc and maximum distance(e.g., range) of the cone of interest, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a diagram of several “cones of interest” and a region ofinterest defined in the interface by a user according to an embodimentof the invention. A cone of interest is a specific shape of a region ofinterest used in embodiments of the invention. The position of the userand the portable device 31 is shown on the map. The positions of thefirst individual of interest 33′ and the second individual of interest34′ are also shown. The first cone of interest 35 defines a zone ofinterest corresponding to the top window in FIG. 5. Only the firstindividual of interest 33′ is in the first cone of interest 35. Thesecond cone of interest 36 defines a zone of interest corresponding tothe bottom window in FIG. 5. The first cone of interest 35 is defined bya maximum distance (e.g., range) 37 and an arc 38 which defines anangle. The second cone of interest 36 is defined by maximum distance(e.g., range) 39 and arc 40, as the user has performed a pinch outgesture in both the horizontal and vertical directions from the firstcone of interest which increases the arc and maximum distance,respectively.

The drawing also shows a region of interest 41 which can also be definedby the user. In embodiments of the invention, the user can switchbetween a map interface and the intuitive interface. In the mapinterface, the user can define a region of interest by touching thecorners of a region of interest. The corners of the region of interestcan be adjusted by a touch and drag operation. Alternatively, the usercan define a region of interest by a text input or speech input. In theillustrated embodiment the city blocks surrounding the Verizon Center isthe region of interest 41. Thus, either a text input or speech input canbe used to designate the Verizon Center as the region of interest.

Further, the region of interest can be the intersection of a region ofinterest and a cone of interest. This feature is useful when the user isclose to a large region of interest and wishes to use the pan feature ofthe interface, but does not want to see an individual of interestoutside the region of interest. As shown in the drawing, the southwestquadrant of the Verizon Center is both in the region of interest 41 andthe second cone of interest 36. Thus, in this embodiment, as individual34′ is in both the region of interest and cone of interest, arepresentation of the individual would be shown in the interface.

As described above, in alternative embodiments, a pinch in or pinch outgesture adjusts the position of the apex of the cone of interest. In adefault mode, the cone of interest is oriented so that the apex of thecone is collocated with the user and radiates away from the apex, e.g.,cone of interest 36. In the second embodiment, a pinch in gesture willmove the apex of the cone forward, e.g., cone of interest 43. The axisalong which the cone of interest can be moved is either the midsectionof the original cone of interest, or in the direction of a selectedindividual of interest, e.g., individual 33′. In some embodiments of theinvention, the arc 45 subtends the same number of degrees as the arc 40of the original cone of interest 36. The maximum distance 47 from theapex has changed from distance 39, although in this example, the maximumdistance from the user is unchanged. Selecting the individual ofinterest can be accomplished by touching a representation of theindividual in embodiments of the invention and then performing the pinchin gesture. The cone 43 is still considered to radiate away from theuser device as it becomes wider as the distance increases from thedevice. To return to the original cone of interest, e.g., cone 36, apinch out gesture can be performed.

FIG. 7 shows an interface according to an embodiment of the invention inwhich a user movement state is depicted. The interface is similar tothat in FIG. 2, however, the representation 33 of one of the individualsof interest is presented in a way that shows movement, in this case, theuser is walking. Other movement representations such as a car, train orplane are used in embodiments of the invention. The interface knows thatthe individual of interest is moving from location information such asGPS information from the individual's device. Alternatively, networkinformation, e.g., from a General Motors OnStar network or an airlinenetwork can be used to infer the user movement. The user representationis a vector in some embodiments, e.g., presenting different pictures atdifferent distances from the user. Preferably, the selection of thepicture is a user setting so that the user knows the meaning of thedifferent representations. As mentioned above, in embodiments of theinvention, the orienting background 32 includes temporary landmarkrepresentations such as the crescent moon representation 55 shown in thedrawing in embodiment where a representational orientating background isprovided, rather than the camera view. Temporary landmarks such as thesun or the moon can be the most visible features by which the user canoriented himself with the environment.

FIG. 8 shows an interface according to an embodiment of the invention inwhich guide arrows are shown. The user may search for one or moreparticular individuals of interest. In this embodiment, the user selectsa representation(s) of the set of individuals which is the subject ofthe search. In this case, the user has selected the individualsindicated by representations 33 and 34. In the interface, left arrow 57or right arrow 59 will be displayed, indicating the direction that theuser should pan between left arrow 57 and right arrow 59 to locate theindividual. In alternative embodiments, the arrows are displayedproximate to the representation, e.g. inside the window which displaysthe representation. This implementation is useful when multipleindividuals of interest are selected who are potentially located indifferent venues. When a three dimensional interface is used, up arrow61 or down arrow 63 is also displayed. Although all four arrows aredisplayed for ease in illustration, when in use, only one arrow istypically displayed, unless multiple individuals at different locationsare designated. Once the individual of interest is located, i.e. bymoving the portable device in the correct direction, in preferredembodiments of the invention, a visual or audio cue alerts the user andthe arrow is removed from the interface.

Although the description of the interface is focused on a preferredembodiment, it can be used in any type of locating application, where anorienting background is presented with representations of the desiredindividual, animals or objects.

Embodiments of the invention may be used for many purposes. Currently,when people are using computers and smartphones, they can generally seewhen people within their social networks are also connected on-line.Among the possible applications of this invention include emergencyresponder and police applications. In such applications, the emergencyresponders generally do not know the identity of the individuals ofinterest, e.g., people trapped in a fire, perpetrator in a bank heist,so that a representation of a generic human figure might be displayed asthe representation of these individuals. In embodiments of theinvention, the emergency responders would get more details about thoseindividuals who opt-in than those who have not opted in. The informationpresented could be dependent on local laws. That is, where privacy lawsprevent the dissemination of personally identifiable information withoutthe individual's consent, less information would be typically displayed.

The device which the individual of interest is using may be differentthan the portable computing device which the emergency responder isusing. For example, for the elderly or disabled, it is common to have amedical alert device. In embodiments of the invention, the medical alertdevice could be augmented to provide information for the use byemergency responders, e.g., through a dialog box next to a genericfigure or representation of the patient.

In other embodiments of the invention, the interface may be virtual,e.g., for use in a 3D game or virtual world. For example, an avatar mayhold a virtual smartphone in a virtual world as the avatar/user movesaround the world. Users (in the form of avatars) may look for peoplerepresented as avatars in a virtual world or a 3D game. In one example,this invention could be applied to games such as “hide and seek” wherethe user could (for example) obtain a brief glimpse of individualshidden behind walls or in closets (or otherwise out of plain sight). Theuser can define regions of interest in a virtual world, rather than usethe cone of interest in the virtual world.

Embodiments of the invention are useful in a business context. The usermay specify regions of interest such as conference centers, trade showsand company buildings. In another example, a user might look for abusiness associate who is heading for the same conference room for ameeting. By pointing the display around, the user could observe whetherthe associate is already seated in the room, or is heading towards theconference room.

In other embodiments, the regions of interest defined include outdoorevent locations, parks, malls, cars ahead, cars in traffic, airplanes,busses or trains.

The term “individuals of interest” may extended to animals, e.g., auser's pet, in embodiments of the invention. For example, a user can bewalking in a park looking for the user's dog, who has a special locatingcollar, using a portable device enabled with the present invention. Asanother example, the user might find the pet cat by scanning the displayup and down a tree to find the cat on a high branch.

In yet other embodiments, the individuals of interest can be extended toobjects of interest. That is, a user can place a tag on a frequentlymisplaced item to locate it. The user can select an icon to representthe item in the interface.

Privacy is a concern with the invention. An opt-in process like thatused in most social media, that is, the interface uses an opt-in systemto preserve privacy of the individuals of interest is envisioned. Oncethe individual has opted to allow others to locate him in the interface,the users will see the individual (if he is of interest) when theindividual is present in a cone or region of interest. Embodiments ofthe invention may have a time out or snooze option so that there will betimes that the individual cannot be located, even though generally theindividual has assented to participate in the system. Further, a filtercan be used to allow only a certain group of users to locate theindividual. A user may set his privacy settings such that they onlyprovide their location upon a real-time request and response. They mayalso wish to not reveal their location when in a sensitive location suchas a bathroom. In embodiments of the invention, a user needs permissionfrom an individual of interest to be able to track him or her on theservice.

A portable display device presents the user interface, e.g., on a devicesuch as a smartphone or tablet, by receiving information on the locationof one or more individuals of interest and by monitoring the locationand orientation of the device. Since this user interface requires only afinal direction and distance to the target, in embodiments of theinvention, a set of vectors may be exchanged and then summed toconstruct the final user interface.

In embodiments of the invention, the graphical attributes of thedisplayed individual may change based on any of: distance from user,movement of individual (e.g., is he walking toward the user, away fromthe user or in a certain direction, and so forth.), speed of movement(e.g., is the individual of interest in car or walking), and/or physicallocation of the user (e.g., which floor is he/she on).

Further, whether the individual of interest appears in the display atall depends on whether he/she is inside or outside the zone of interest.In preferred embodiments, the zone of interest is a cone of interestwhich originates at the user and widens with distance from the user. Themaximum distance (e.g., range) of the cone of interest can be configuredby the user. In other embodiments of the invention, the zone of interestcan be limited to a region of interest such as a block, neighborhood orcity. When an individual moves outside of a region of interest (forinstance, an individual leaves the crowded bar where the user issearching for his friends) the individual is no longer shown.

Cognitive considerations: The graphical user interface and system maychoose a means of highlighting a given set of individuals in the scenebased on the number of attributes, user cohort, user preferences, scenecomplexity, and so forth. Although the preferred embodiment does notmerely show the individuals of interest as “dots on a map”, as analternative embodiment, the user can switch between the intuitiveinterface view and a map view. By being able to switch between theintuitive interface and the map interface, more information is availableto the user which may be helpful to locate the individual of interest.

Further, in the illustrated beach crowd scene, had there been a hundredindividuals of interest detected in a crowd containing thousands ofpeople, the individuals of interest may be displayed as bright red dotsor squares. If there are ten individuals of interest, rather thanhundreds, perhaps such people will be represented with small icons ormore life-like depictions of the given individuals, and so on. Thenature of this “multi-resolution” depiction may be specified by theuser, or it may be determined automatically by the interface as a set ofdefaults.

Some users may have difficulty assimilating too much information at onceor simply have a cognitive preference for simplicity. In embodiments ofthe invention, the system learns the preferences of the user, and newsituations may be presented in similar manners to the presentationswhich the user has selected in the past. The system may learn userpreferences and/or preferences for cohorts of users through repeated useof this application over time. This multi-resolution preference may alsoapply to the depiction of individuals of interest. As groups of usersoperate a tablet or smartphone in similar ways, e.g., pointing thedevice north into a crowd, the application stores the selected interfacestyles among the set of possible interface styles, selected by therespective users based on user preferences, number of individuals,complexity considerations and other factors, the application can use theappropriate learned interface for a new user in a new situation.

FIG. 9 is a flow diagram illustrating one embodiment of the inventionfor operating the interface. First, the portable device, e.g., asmartphone, determines the position and orientation of the devicedisplay in space by using device sensors such as accelerometers, compassand GPS, in step 601. Next, the field of view of the device screen at apresent zoom is determined, either from the camera or by calculationfrom mapping software. The mapping software determines an arm lengthfrom the user, projects the landscape features present in a cone fromthe user and determines how the orienting background should bedisplayed, step 603. In this embodiment, a live feed from the camera isused for the orienting background in the interface.

Next, in this example, the individuals of interest are the user'sfriends, so a database of the user's friends is searched for theircurrent locations, i.e. are the individual friends inside the cone ofinterest, step 605. In embodiments of the invention, individuals justoutside within a predetermined distance of the current cone of interestare also displayed in the interface. The predetermined distance can be afactor of the maximum distance or the arc of the cone of interest.

The device screen displays a live camera image as the orientingbackground and the representation of friends, e.g., avatars, photographsof the friends, who are located in or near the cone of interest. In thisembodiment, the representations are annotated with name, distance anddirection information, step 607.

The user uses a pinch gesture to change the zoom and thereby the cone ofinterest which results in a new determination of which friends arelocated in the new cone of interest, so some of the representations ofthe friends may disappear or new ones appear depending on the directionof the pinch gesture, i.e. pinch in or pinch out, step 609. In someembodiments, the step will require a new search of the respectivelocations of the set of friends. In other embodiments, the friendlocations are kept in a cache in anticipation of an adjustment of thezone of interest or orientation of the user.

Next, the user changes the orientation of the smartphone. For example,the user first chose a northerly direction and now chooses an easterlydirection. This results in a change of the cone of interest, a newsearch of the friend locations (unless cached) and a new set ofrepresentations of friends displayed in the interface, step 611.

In step 613, the user adjusts the filters for the maximum distance rangein the cone of interest to exclude friends outside the maximum distance.In preferred embodiments of the invention, this can be accomplished by avertical pinch in gesture on the background. Other embodiments call up adialog box so that the user can specify the maximum distance range ofthe zone of interest.

Next, user clicks on a selected one of the friend representations tocall up a social media network, contacts information, and so forth, sothat the user can contact the selected friend, or verify that therepresentation is for the friend that the user wants to contact, step615. In embodiments of the invention, a “long press” of therepresentation will bring up additional options. In this illustrativeexample, the user long presses on the representation of the friend tocall up additional options, such as “navigate to” and “send text messageto”, step 617.

In the drawing, the user selects a menu option called “megaphone” tomessage everyone in the current cone of interest as a group textmessage, step 619.

The location of the user and of individuals of interest is determined byphone location, RFID system and by other known location-findingprocesses in different embodiments of the invention. For example, inembodiments that work with global positioning system (GPS) devices inmobile phones, Wi-Fi-signals, and/or cell phone signals to locate theuser and the individuals of interest. In some embodiments, the locationtechnology is selected manually by a user.

Known indoor location tracking methods are used in other embodiments ofthe invention. An indoor positioning system (IPS) is a system to locateobjects or people inside a building using radio waves, magnetic fields,acoustic signals, optical and/or other sensing information. IPStechnologies include distance measurement to nearby anchor nodes (nodeswith known positions, e.g., Wi-Fi access points), magnetic positioning,dead reckoning. IPS systems either actively locate mobile devices andtags or provide ambient location or environmental context for portabledevices.

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), Wi-Fi 802.11 on 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz radiocommunication protocols are used in embodiments of the invention toestablish a link between a plurality of devices and infer a network ofdirection and distance information.

FIG. 10 illustrates an architectural diagram of components for locatinga portable device according to an embodiment of the invention. Theportable device 300 is preferably a smartphone, tablet computer, laptopcomputers and the like. In the diagram, the cell towers 301 and Wi-Fiaccess point 303 are shown, but one skilled in the art would recognizethat other signal providers and acquirers such as Global PositioningSystem (GPS) satellites would be used in embodiments of the invention.The accelerometer 305 is a sensor that measures acceleration, i.e.movement, tilting motion and orientation of a mobile device. Amagnetometer 307 (or compass) is a sensor that detects the Earth'smagnetic field to find the orientation of a mobile device. Often themagnetometer and accelerometer are incorporated in the same chip in thedevice. The Global Positioning System (GPS) 309 is typically a chip inthe mobile device that finds the device position using trilateration ofat least three satellite signals. In cities with tall skyscrapers GPS isoften supplemented with the cell tower and Wi-Fi signals for locatingthe device. A gyroscope 311 also used to tell how the mobile device isoriented. Detection unit 313 determines the device position andorientation and transmits the position and the orientation to themapping unit 315. Mobile phones use a motion coprocessor which acceptsdata from the accelerometer, compass, gyroscope, GPS chip in the phone.

The mapping unit 315 is the component in which the interface of theinvention is resident. The mapping unit collects the locations of theuser, the cone of interest and the individuals of interest. Given theorientation of the portable device, user preferences, the currentfilters and the above information, the mapping unit software determineshow the user interface should be presented to the user. In the case ofan individual of interest, the mapping unit would not necessarily needto present the interface, however, in preferred embodiments, it isenvisioned that all users would be equipped with a similar application.This would obviously not be true in the pet or object embodimentsdiscussed above.

The mobile device 300 also includes components related to typical input,output and processing activities. The microphone 317 allows the user toinput natural language commands includes a command to the interface suchas “find friends” which would start the inventive interface. Theprocessor 319 is used to execute the application in which the inventionis embodied as well as other applications running on the mobile device.The transceiver 321 is a combined transmitter and receiver which is usedto communicate with one or more networks. Storage 323 is used to storethe application and other needed elements such as the friend database.The display 325 is equipped with a touch interface to accept input suchas the pinch in and pinch out gestures. The speaker 327 is used topresent auditory cues indicating that the desired friends have beenfound, e.g., the user has oriented the device in the correct direction.

GPS location, while useful, will only allow the location information tobe determined usefully over relatively coarse distances. For smallervenues, e.g., an athletic event, concert, or city street, more transientsignaling between devices and landmarks can help construct finerresolution maps of where people are in a venue relative to the user ofthe invention. In this way, relative positional information may beexchanged between devices to estimate distances and directioninformation for each individual at the venue. This information can thenbe intuitively displayed using the invention without the need forprecise map coordinates for each individual.

With reference now to the drawings and in particular with reference toFIGS. 11-12, exemplary diagrams of data processing environments areprovided in which illustrative embodiments of the disclosure may beimplemented. It should be appreciated that FIGS. 11-12 are onlyexemplary and are not intended to assert or imply any limitation withregard to the environments in which aspects or embodiments of thedisclosed subject matter may be implemented. Many modifications to thedepicted environments may be made without departing from the spirit andscope of the present invention.

With reference now to the drawings, FIG. 11 depicts a pictorialrepresentation of an exemplary distributed data processing system inwhich aspects of the illustrative embodiments may be implemented.Distributed data processing system 100 may include a network ofcomputers in which aspects of the illustrative embodiments may beimplemented. The distributed data processing system 100 contains atleast one network 102, which is the medium used to provide communicationlinks between various devices and computers connected together withindistributed data processing system 100. The network 102 may includeconnections, such as wire, wireless communication links, or fiber opticcables.

In the depicted example, server 104 and server 106 are connected tonetwork 102 along with network storage unit 108. In addition, clients110, 112, and 114 are also connected to network 102. These clients 110,112, and 114 may be, for example, smartphones, tablet computers,personal computers, network computers, or the like. In the depictedexample, server 104 provides data, such as boot files, operating systemimages, and applications to the clients 110, 112, and 114. Clients 110,112, and 114 are clients to server 104 in the depicted example.Distributed data processing system 100 may include additional servers,clients, and other devices not shown. One or more of the servercomputers may be a mainframe computer connected to network 102.Mainframe computer can be, for example, an IBM System z mainframerunning the IBM z/OS operating system. Connected to the mainframe may bemainframe storage unit and workstations (not pictured). The workstationscan be either a personal computer connected directly to the mainframecommunicating over a bus, or a console terminal connected directly tothe mainframe via a display port.

In the depicted example, distributed data processing system 100 is theInternet with network 102 representing a worldwide collection ofnetworks and gateways that use the Transmission ControlProtocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite of protocols to communicatewith one another. At the heart of the Internet is a backbone ofhigh-speed data communication lines between major nodes or hostcomputers, consisting of thousands of commercial, governmental,educational and other computer systems that route data and messages. Ofcourse, the distributed data processing system 100 may also beimplemented to include a number of different types of networks, such asfor example, an intranet, a local area network (LAN), a wide areanetwork (WAN), or the like. As stated above, FIG. 11 is intended as anexample, not as an architectural limitation for different embodiments ofthe disclosed subject matter, and therefore, the particular elementsshown in FIG. 11 should not be considered limiting with regard to theenvironments in which the illustrative embodiments of the presentinvention may be implemented.

With reference now to FIG. 12, a block diagram of an exemplary dataprocessing system is shown in which aspects of the illustrativeembodiments may be implemented. Data processing system 200 is an exampleof a computer, such as client 114 in FIG. 11, in which computer usablecode or instructions implementing the processes for illustrativeembodiments of the disclosure may be located.

With reference now to FIG. 12, a block diagram of a data processingsystem is shown in which illustrative embodiments may be implemented.Data processing system 200 is an example of a computer, such as server104 or client 110 in FIG. 11, in which computer-usable program code orinstructions implementing the processes may be located for theillustrative embodiments. In this illustrative example, data processingsystem 200 includes communications fabric 202, which providescommunications between processor unit 204, memory 206, persistentstorage 208, communications unit 210, input/output (I/O) unit(s) 212,and display 214.

Processor unit 204 serves to execute instructions for software that maybe loaded into memory 206. Processor unit 204 may be a set of one ormore processors or may be a multi-processor core, depending on theparticular implementation. Further, processor unit 204 may beimplemented using one or more heterogeneous processor systems in which amain processor is present with secondary processors on a single chip. Asanother illustrative example, processor unit 204 may be a symmetricmulti-processor (SMP) system containing multiple processors of the sametype.

Memory 206 and persistent storage 208 are examples of storage devices. Astorage device is any piece of hardware that is capable of storinginformation either on a temporary basis and/or a permanent basis. Memory206, in these examples, may be, for example, a random access memory orany other suitable volatile or non-volatile storage device. Persistentstorage 208 may take various forms depending on the particularimplementation. For example, persistent storage 208 may contain one ormore components or devices. For example, persistent storage 208 may be ahard drive, a flash memory, a rewritable optical disk, a rewritablemagnetic tape, or some combination of the above. The media used bypersistent storage 208 also may be removable. For example, a removablehard drive may be used for persistent storage 208.

Communications unit 210, in these examples, provides for communicationswith other data processing systems or devices. In these examples,communications unit 210 is a network interface card. Communications unit210 may provide communications through the use of either or bothphysical and wireless communications links.

Input/output unit 212 allows for input and output of data with otherdevices that may be connected to data processing system 200. Forexample, input/output unit 212 may provide a connection for user inputthrough a keyboard and mouse. Further, input/output unit 212 may sendoutput to a printer. Further, input/output unit may provide connectionsto a microphone for audio input from a user and a speaker to provideaudio output from the computer. Display 214 provides a mechanism todisplay information to a user.

Instructions for the operating system and applications or programs arelocated on persistent storage 208. These instructions may be loaded intomemory 206 for execution by processor unit 204. The processes of thedifferent embodiments may be performed by processor unit 204 usingcomputer implemented instructions, which may be located in a memory,such as memory 206. These instructions are referred to as program code,computer-usable program code, or computer-readable program code that maybe read and executed by a processor in processor unit 204. The programcode in the different embodiments may be embodied on different physicalor tangible computer-readable media, such as memory 206 or persistentstorage 208.

Program code 216 is located in a functional form on computer-readablemedia 218 that is selectively removable and may be loaded onto ortransferred to data processing system 200 for execution by processorunit 204. Program code 216 and computer-readable media 218 form computerprogram product 220 in these examples. In one example, computer-readablemedia 218 may be in a tangible form, such as, for example, an optical ormagnetic disc that is inserted or placed into a drive or other devicethat is part of persistent storage 208 for transfer onto a storagedevice, such as a hard drive that is part of persistent storage 208. Ina tangible form, computer-readable media 218 also may take the form of apersistent storage, such as a hard drive, a thumb drive, or a flashmemory that is connected to data processing system 200. The tangibleform of computer-readable media 218 is also referred to ascomputer-recordable storage media. In some instances,computer-recordable media 218 may not be removable.

Alternatively, program code 216 may be transferred to data processingsystem 200 from computer-readable media 218 through a communicationslink to communications unit 210 and/or through a connection toinput/output unit 212. The communications link and/or the connection maybe physical or wireless in the illustrative examples. Thecomputer-readable media also may take the form of non-tangible media,such as communications links or wireless transmissions containing theprogram code. The different components illustrated for data processingsystem 200 are not meant to provide architectural limitations to themanner in which different embodiments may be implemented. The differentillustrative embodiments may be implemented in a data processing systemincluding components in addition to or in place of those illustrated fordata processing system 200. Other components shown in FIG. 12 can bevaried from the illustrative examples shown. As one example, a storagedevice in data processing system 200 is any hardware apparatus that maystore data. Memory 206, persistent storage 208, and computer-readablemedia 218 are examples of storage devices in a tangible form.

In another example, a bus system may be used to implement communicationsfabric 202 and may be comprised of one or more buses, such as a systembus or an input/output bus. Of course, the bus system may be implementedusing any suitable type of architecture that provides for a transfer ofdata between different components or devices attached to the bus system.Additionally, a communications unit may include one or more devices usedto transmit and receive data, such as a modem or a network adapter.Further, a memory may be, for example, memory 206 or a cache such asfound in an interface and memory controller hub that may be present incommunications fabric 202.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the presentinvention may be written in any combination of one or more programminglanguages, including an object-oriented programming language such asJava™, Smalltalk, C++, C#, Objective-C, or the like, and conventionalprocedural programming languages such as Python or C. The program codemay execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user'scomputer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user'scomputer and partly on a remote computer, or entirely on the remotecomputer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may beconnected to the user's computer through any type of network, includinga local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or theconnection may be made to an external computer (for example, through theInternet using an Internet Service Provider).

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the hardware inFIGS. 11-12 may vary depending on the implementation. Other internalhardware or peripheral devices, such as flash memory, equivalentnon-volatile memory, or optical disk drives and the like, may be used inaddition to or in place of the hardware depicted in FIGS. 11-12. Also,the processes of the illustrative embodiments may be applied to amultiprocessor data processing system, other than the SMP systemmentioned previously, without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosed subject matter.

The techniques described herein may operate in conjunction within thestandard client-server paradigm such as illustrated in FIG. 11 in whichclient machines communicate with an Internet-accessible Web-based portalexecuting on a set of one or more machines. End users operateInternet-connectable devices (e.g., desktop computers, notebookcomputers, Internet-enabled mobile devices, or the like) that arecapable of accessing and interacting with the portal. Typically, eachclient or server machine is a data processing system such as illustratedin FIG. 12 comprising hardware and software, and these entitiescommunicate with one another over a network, such as the Internet, anintranet, an extranet, a private network, or any other communicationsmedium or link. A data processing system typically includes one or moreprocessors, an operating system, one or more applications, and one ormore utilities.

The present invention has many advantages over the prior art.Embodiments of the invention have an advantage over “dots on a map”interfaces, as they do not require error compensation to precisely plota location of the individual of interest. Since the user interface isintuitive and does not require precise location information, the“locating function” is performed cognitively by the user. That is, byshowing a user an approximate vector heading and distance, andintuitively orienting the user with a “look through” interface, the userhas the needed information to locate the individual of interest.

While a preferred operating environment and use case has been described,the techniques herein may be used in any other operating environment inwhich it is desired to deploy services.

As has been described, the functionality described above may beimplemented as a standalone approach, e.g., one or more software-basedfunctions executed by one or more hardware processors, or it may beavailable as a managed service (including as a web service via aSOAP/XML or RESTful interface). The particular hardware and softwareimplementation details described herein are merely for illustrativepurposes are not meant to limit the scope of the described subjectmatter.

More generally, computing devices within the context of the disclosedsubject matter are each a data processing system comprising hardware andsoftware, and these entities communicate with one another over anetwork, such as the Internet, an intranet, an extranet, a privatenetwork, or any other communications medium or link. The applications onthe data processing system provide native support for Web and otherknown services and protocols including, without limitation, support forHTTP, FTP, SMTP, SOAP, XML, WSDL, UDDI, and WSFL, among others.Information regarding SOAP, WSDL, UDDI and WSFL is available from theWorld Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which is responsible for developing andmaintaining these standards; further information regarding HTTP, FTP,SMTP and XML is available from Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

In addition to the cloud-based environment, the techniques describedherein may be implemented in or in conjunction with various server-sidearchitectures including simple n-tier architectures, web portals,federated systems, and the like.

Still more generally, the subject matter described herein can take theform of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodimentor an embodiment containing both hardware and software elements. In apreferred embodiment, the module functions are implemented in software,which includes but is not limited to firmware, resident software,microcode, and the like. Furthermore, the interfaces and functionalitycan take the form of a computer program product accessible from acomputer-usable or computer-readable medium providing program code foruse by or in connection with a computer or any instruction executionsystem. For the purposes of this description, a computer-usable orcomputer readable medium can be any apparatus that can contain or storethe program for use by or in connection with the instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device. The medium can be an electronic, magnetic,optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or a semiconductor system (orapparatus or device). Examples of a computer-readable medium include asemiconductor or solid state memory, magnetic tape, a removable computerdiskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), arigid magnetic disk and an optical disk. Current examples of opticaldisks include compact disk—read only memory (CD-ROM), compactdisk—read/write (CD-R/W) and DVD. The computer-readable medium is atangible, non-transitory item.

The computer program product may be a product having programinstructions (or program code) to implement one or more of the describedfunctions. Those instructions or code may be stored in a computerreadable storage medium in a data processing system after beingdownloaded over a network from a remote data processing system. Or,those instructions or code may be stored in a computer readable storagemedium in a server data processing system and adapted to be downloadedover a network to a remote data processing system for use in a computerreadable storage medium within the remote system.

In a representative embodiment, the techniques are implemented in aspecial purpose computing platform, preferably in software executed byone or more processors. The software is maintained in one or more datastores or memories associated with the one or more processors, and thesoftware may be implemented as one or more computer programs.Collectively, this special-purpose hardware and software comprises thefunctionality described above.

In the preferred embodiment, the functionality provided herein isimplemented as an adjunct or extension to an existing cloud computedeployment management solution.

While the above describes a particular order of operations performed bycertain embodiments of the invention, it should be understood that suchorder is exemplary, as alternative embodiments may perform theoperations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlapcertain operations, or the like. References in the specification to agiven embodiment indicate that the embodiment described may include aparticular feature, structure, or characteristic, but every embodimentmay not necessarily include the particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic.

Finally, while given components of the system have been describedseparately, one of ordinary skill will appreciate that some of thefunctions may be combined or shared in given instructions, programsequences, code portions, and the like.

Having described our invention, what we now claim is as follows:
 1. Amethod for presenting locations of individuals in an interfacecomprising: monitoring a location and an orientation of a portabledevice with respect to an environment; determining boundaries of aregion of interest within the environment; determining a set oflocations of one or more individuals of interest with respect to thedetermined boundaries of the region of interest in the environment; andpresenting an orienting background and a set of representations ofrespective individuals against the orienting background in an interfaceon the display, the interface presented according to the location andorientation of the display, wherein the orienting background contains apositional cue of a landmark of the environment toward which theportable device is oriented, wherein the representation of therespective individual of interest is displayed only if the portabledevice is oriented toward the respective individual of interest in orwithin a predetermined distance of the region of interest; wherein theorienting background and the set of representations are discreteinterface elements.
 2. The method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising: determining that a plurality of individuals of interest arein the region of interest; and presenting a representation of each ofthe plurality of individuals of interest against the orientingbackground in the interface; wherein the orienting background is userselectable between a camera view and a representational view of theenvironment, wherein the representation of the respective individual ofinterest is user selectable between a photograph, a caricature, acartoon or an icon and each of the representations is a discreteinterface element.
 3. The method as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising defining the one or more individuals of interest by a set offilters comprising a time filter defining a window of time in which auser of the portable device is looking for respective ones of the one ormore individuals of interest.
 4. The method as recited in claim 1, inwhich a location of a respective individual of interest is determined bydetermining a location of a device used by the respective individual ofinterest.
 5. The method as recited in claim 1, further comprising:determining whether a respective individual of interest has grantedpermission to be located by a first user of the portable device at acurrent time; and displaying a representation of the respectiveindividual of interest in the region of interest only if the respectiveindividual of interest has granted permission to be located by the firstuser of the portable device at the current time.
 6. The method asrecited in claim 1, further comprising: determining that a respectiveindividual of interest is moving; and displaying the representation ofthe respective individual of interest in a graphical manner togetherwith an icon depicting a manner of the detected movement.
 7. The methodas recited in claim 1, wherein the representation of the respectiveindividual of interest is a set of representations, each for arespective distance of the respective individual of interest from theportable device, the method further comprising: determining a distancebetween a respective individual of interest and the portable device;selecting one of the set of representations based on the determineddistance; and displaying the selected representation of the respectiveindividual of interest.
 8. (canceled)
 9. Apparatus, comprising: aprocessor; computer memory holding computer program instructionsexecuted by the processor for presenting locations of individuals in aninterface, the computer program instructions comprising: program code,operative to monitor a location and an orientation of a display of aportable device with respect to an environment; program code, operativeto determine boundaries of a region of interest within in theenvironment; program code, operative to determine a set of locations ofone or more individuals of interest with respect to the determinedboundaries of the region of interest in the environment; and programcode, operative to present an orienting background and a set ofrepresentations of respective individuals against the orientingbackground in an interface on the display, the interface presentedaccording to the location and orientation of the display, wherein theorienting background contains a positional cue of a landmark of theenvironment toward which the portable device is oriented, wherein therepresentation of the respective individual of interest is displayedonly if the portable device is oriented toward the respective individualof interest in or within a predetermined distance of the region ofinterest; wherein the orienting background and the set ofrepresentations are discrete interface elements.
 10. The apparatus asrecited in claim 9, further comprising: program code, operative todetermine that a plurality of individuals of interest are in the regionof interest; program code, operative to present a representation of eachof the plurality of individuals of interest against the orientingbackground in the interface; program code, operative to allow userselection of the orienting background between a camera view and arepresentational view of the environment; and program code, operative toallow user selection of the representation of the respective individualof interest is user selectable between a photograph, a caricature, acartoon or an icon; wherein each of the representations is a discreteinterface element.
 11. The apparatus as recited in claim 9, furthercomprising: program code, operative to determine that a first individualof interest of the plurality of individuals of interest is in the regionof interest program code, operative to receive information that thefirst individual of interest is at an elevation above ground level;program code, operative to determine that the portable device is raisedvertically from a horizontal direction; and program code responsive todetermining that the portable device is raised vertically from thehorizontal direction operative to present a representation for the firstindividual of interest against the orienting background in the interfaceon the display.
 12. The apparatus as recited in claim 9, furthercomprising program code, operative to select a filter to define a set ofone or more individuals of interest by selecting one a set of filtersselected from the group consisting of a filter for members of a socialnetwork, a filter for an individual, a filter for members of a cohort, afilter for employees of a company and a filter for individuals ofinterest looking for a user of the portable device.
 13. The apparatus asrecited in claim 9, further comprising program code operative to selecta region of interest wherein the region of interest is selected from theboundaries of one of the group of a conference center, a trade showvenue, a building, a park, an outdoor event venue or a mall.
 14. Theapparatus as recited in claim 9, further comprising a locating collar;and wherein the individual of interest is an animal.
 15. A computerprogram product in a non-transitory computer readable medium for use ina data processing system, the computer program product holding computerprogram instructions executed by the data processing system forpresenting locations of individuals in an interface, the computerprogram instructions comprising: program code, operative to monitor alocation and an orientation of a display of a portable device withrespect to an environment; program code, operative to determineboundaries of a region of interest within in the environment; programcode, operative to determine a set of locations of one or moreindividuals of interest with respect to the determined boundaries of theregion of interest in the environment; and program code, operative topresent an orienting background and a set of representations ofrespective individuals against the orienting background in an interfaceon the display, the interface presented according to the location andorientation of the display, wherein the orienting background contains apositional cue of a landmark of the environment toward which theportable device is oriented, wherein the representation of therespective individual of interest is displayed only if the portabledevice is oriented toward the respective individual of interest in orwithin a predetermined distance of the region of interest; wherein theorienting background and the set of representations are discreteinterface elements.
 16. The computer program product as recited in claim15, further comprising: program code, operative to determine that aplurality of individuals of interest are in the region of interest;program code, operative to present a representation of each of theplurality of individuals of interest against the orienting background inthe interface; program code, operative to allow user selection of theorienting background between a camera view and a representational viewof the environment; and program code, operative to allow user selectionof the representation of the respective individual of interest is userselectable between a photograph, a caricature, a cartoon or an icon;wherein each of the representations is a discrete interface element. 17.The computer program product as recited in claim 15, wherein graphicalattributes of the representation of the individual of interest changesbased on any of: a distance of the individual of interest from the userof the portable device and a movement of the individual of interest;wherein the distance affects a selection of the representation of theindividual of interest from a set of representations each for arespective distance and the movement causes a selection of an added iconrepresenting a mode of movement to be added to the interface.
 18. Thecomputer program product as recited in claim 16, wherein representationsof the plurality of individuals of interest are selected according to aset of person, region of interest and time filters.
 19. The computerprogram product as recited in claim 15, wherein representations of theplurality of individuals are selected according to a density of theindividuals of interest.
 20. The computer program product as recited inclaim 15, further comprising program code, operative to displaygraphical elements against the orienting background to indicate adirection that the display should be moved for a representation of anindividual of interest to be displayed.
 21. The method as recited inclaim 1, further comprising: switching to a map interface; and receivinguser input from a touch interface to define a user defined region ofinterest; wherein the boundaries of the region of interest within theenvironment are determined by an intersection of a cone of interestradiating outward from the portable device and the user defined regionof interest.